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Tag: Fitness

Your knees carry a heavy load. If you want to know how much take your bodyweight? Multiply it by four, and that’s how many pounds of stress you put on a knee with every step you take. If you weigh 150 pounds, you hit your knee with 600 pounds of force with every step. If you are running multiply your weight by ten each time the foot hits the ground. A 150-pound person slams the knee with 1,500 pounds of force.

Nevertheless, the knee is not alone. Muscles tendons and ligaments around your knee can absorb a lot of this energy and help take the strain off your knee, but beware. Muscles tendons and ligaments that are tight and could put more stress on the joint. There are three ways of taking good care of your joints to help keep your knees strong flexible and healthy.

Stretch and warm up before work

Stretching your knees loosens and warms up the muscles better. It also increases blood flow to the joints. Warming up also helps improve the flow of the synovial fluid that fills your knee joint. Think of this as the motor oil of your knee. It lubricates the joint and helps keep it healthy to lift correctly. Set both feet firmly before lifting anything and use correct posture. This distributes the load evenly across your whole body. Hold the load close. Holding it too far from the body is not only bad for your back, but it also puts extra stress and pressure on your knees.

Choose the right footwear

Use the right Footwear wear shoes with good arch supports and above all wear sensible shoes that fit right. Don’t choose shoes for the show, choose shoes for smarts. In other words, put fashion aside for proper function. Bad shoes throw your legs out of alignment and upset your balance, throwing heavy stress on your knees. Inspect your Footwear often and replace it when it gets worn down. Good Footwear may not be cheap, but it’s worth the investment.

Do stretches

Do stretches for the areas both above and below the knee a quadriceps stretch is an easy and quick way to stretch them above. Put one hand on a stationary object for balance. Using the other hand grab your leg around the ankle and lift it toward your backside. Keep your back straight and don’t slouch forward. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds and repeat several times. A good quick stretch for below the knee is the push off like the one you see runners doing before a race.

Lean against the wall both palms out the leg you want to stretch it straight back several feet from the wall. Plant your heel firmly on the floor. Flex your other leg halfway between your back leg and the wall. Start with your back straight and gradually bend the flexed leg forward, until you feel the stretch in your calf. One last thing, no matter what you do, make sure you stretch every day.

Conclusion

These few tips work well in taking care of your joints without even visiting a physician. However, if you encounter any form of difficulty in your joints, It’s highly recommended to visit your medical practitioner for further check-up.